Another Hero, A Different Heart
by Tarafina
Summary: “When are you going to stop taking his mistakes out on me?” :Chlollie:


**Title**: Another Hero, A Different Heart  
**Category**: Smallville  
**Rating**: T  
**Genre**: Angst/Romance  
**Pairing**: Chloe/Oliver  
**Prompt**: #037 - Anger  
**Word Count**: 1,108  
**Summary**: "When are you going to stop taking his mistakes out on me?"

**_Another Hero, A Different Heart_**

"When are you going to stop taking his mistakes out on me?"

She paused. Those words had so much to them; the full weight of the accusation sat heavy in her chest. She wanted to deny it, she wanted to whirl around and show how appalled she was that he would even _think _that. But he was right.

Chloe Sullivan had lived her life being the girl grown _out of_, all the while wishing she was the girl men grew _in to_. And when that man came along, all of her years spent standing in the background, wanting up front, came flooding back. She was unwilling to let him get too close, always expecting the next pretty face to take him away. She expected to be forgotten or looked over, just as soon as he found who he _really _wanted, who he needed more than her. And she did what she could, she tried her best to be irreplaceable, but there was only so much one person could do. Taking those fears out on him did nothing for their relationship; if anything, she was the one ruining it. Because she'd rather walk away thinking none of it was her fault than stick around and find out it was just _her _he didn't want.

Months she'd been avoiding this, and all the same waiting for the impending fall-out. Where he reached, she drew away, and where he laid his heart out, she hid hers. There was truth and honesty between them, always, but offering up her heart was what she avoided to the very end. It'd been broken one too many times, stomped on and kicked around. And when he came along, he offered safe-keeping, a shelter, but she was getting entirely too jaded when it came to loving someone. The worst of it was she knew he deserved it; of everyone she'd ever let herself open up to, he'd been the strongest, the most trust-worthy. And he really, _truly_, loved her. She knew that; she _felt _that.

Turning, she stared at him, her lips pursing so they wouldn't shake. She'd been waiting for this to come up, only she hadn't thought he'd put up any sign of a fight. She figured he'd give in, give up, and walk away. She should've known better.

"I'm not him," he said simply, lifting a shoulder. "In fact, I think I'm the farthest thing from him while still staying in the realm of good guy."

He was and she knew that. But there was only so much heartache a girl could take before she expected it from everyone.

"I was here when he wasn't… I've _been _here this whole time… And you keep looking at me like you're surprised I would stay." He shook his head, brows furrowed in pained confusion. "I don't know what I have to do to prove myself to you."

She winced. "You don't have to prove anything…" she murmured, eyes falling to the ground. "You've more than proved what kind of person you are, long before this ever happened."

"This?" He sighed, shaking his head. "This is _us_, Chloe. And frankly, I'm not sure where we stand anymore."

Her head told her this was good, there'd be no more waiting, it would finally end. But her heart _hurt_; it ached with the realization that she was about to really and truly _lose _him.

He crossed the room in long strides, coming to a stop so close to her she could feel the heat radiating off his tall, broad form. "Tell me what I have to do… What I have to _say_…" he asked, reaching for her. Hands encompassing her shoulders, he squeezed as if he wanted to shake sense into her.

She urged herself to calm down, to take a deep breath and find the cold persona she'd picked up after Clark left her. She wanted to be unaffected by all of this, wave goodbye, and think it didn't hurt at all. Because she _didn't _get close to him, she _didn't _fall in love with him. Except she did. Chloe Sullivan, heart on her sleeve, girl who always came in second, had done it again. She went and fell for the hero and now it was blowing up in her face. Her own fault, really. Much as she loved him, she pushed those feelings and him away. Kept at arm's length, she expected it to dim. God, but he was persistent though. When she pushed, he pulled; when she fell, he picked her up; her no's were his yes's.

"Don't do that," he murmured, hands cupping her face. "Don't block me out now. Please."

She stared up at him, clenching her teeth as she saw those warm brown eyes stare at her so sorrowfully. "I can't do it again," she whispered.

"You _aren't_," he argued. "I'm different! _We're _different!"

He sounded so sure; so confident that they wouldn't repeat the past.

Blinking to stop her tears and only managing to force them out, she sucked in air and shook her head as her entirety shook. "Please…"

He scowled. "Please what? Leave you? Give up?" He shook his head vehemently. "You don't get it!"

Her eyes squeezed shut.

Stroking her cheeks, wiping her tears away and soothing her some, he took a deep breath. "I'm not leaving you," he promised, shaking his head as she opened her mouth to argue. "No. Listen to me!"

Staring up at him, she bit her lip, seeing her broken self mirrored in his eyes.

"I don't know why he ever walked away from you, but I know that I _won't_…" Searching her gaze, he smiled gently. "He hurt you and I want to promise that I won't, but I can't. I don't know what the future holds, but I know that whatever happens, I want us to be on the same page… And you, trying so hard not to be here with me, is only getting in the way. So I need you… I need you to stop pushing me away and I need you to try and trust me."

Gripping his shirt in her fists, she knew what the smart move would be. Push him away, take what little of her heart she had left, and survive.

Burying a hand in her hair, he drew her close. "Let me love you, Sidekick."

Eyes falling closed, she let all the fight drain from her and he caught her. Like he always had and always _would_.

"Don't break me… Please, Ollie."

Wrapping his arms tight around her, he buried his face in her neck. "I won't… I won't."

And she believed him. Finally.


End file.
